Gordon-11

23 May 2012

A quirky comedy with a science fiction twist

This film is about two British science-fiction fans in the USA for theComic Con. They encounter the surprise of a lifetime when an aliencrosses their path."Paul" has likable main characters, which is not an easy thing toportray in a comedy like this. Usually, the main characters are eithertoo stupid, annoying or too socially challenged, but in "Paul" they arefun, warm and more importantly, everyday characters. The emotionalsubplots are well written and do not seem contrived. The way help isextended in both directions is touching."Paul" is a quirky comedy with a science fiction twist. It's fun towatch, if you take it in a lighthearted way.

Andres Salama

23 May 2012

Starts well but loses steam only intermittently funny

Two British nerds (who seem to be on their thirties) go to San Diegofor the Comic-Con, apparently a very huge Comic Book convention. Arunning gag in the film is that everybody assumes incorrectly thatthese two are gays - though this is never stated, it is likely thatthese thirty-something losers are virgins. On their return trip, theydecide to rent a huge van to visit sites in the US West related to UFOconspiracies (Area 51, Roswell). On the road, they find an actualalien, the Paul of the title, who is diminutive, grumpy andfoulmouthed, among other things, and is on the run from some Man inBlack types who has held him imprisoned in a secret base for decades.The three soon see themselves on the lam, not just from the US agents,but also from some rednecks and a Christian fundamentalist who believesthey have kidnapped his grown one-eyed daughter. All this is funnier onpaper than on film. The best part is the first fifteen minutes, withits pointed satire of Nerd culture. After that, the film loses steam.This is the first film I have seen from the British comic duo of SimonPegg and Nick Frost (they wrote the film and starred in it), and I mustsay that I wasn't too impressed with them. The movie never reaches itspotential and is only intermittently funny. Also, I must say that for asemi mainstream movie, its mockery of Christian people is prettypointed and harsh.

Robbie Collin

21 May 2012

Get a load of this: Paul smokes marijuana cigarettes, has jumbo-sized naughty bits and keeps making jokes about probing bums! Goodness gracious me. Pass the smelling salts, Aunt Jemima.

Dustin Putman

21 May 2012

It's vaguely pleasant and never offensive, but also predominately blah.

20 May 2012

Was hesitant, but its hilarious

I will admit, that I was a bit hesitant to see Paul for awhile. Mostly because I loved Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz so much. Secondly, the previews really didn't do it justice. But, rest assured, it's fantastic.I wasn't sure if Pegg and Frost would pull off their third film together without Edgar Wright directing and co-writing. What if it was Wright that was the funny one? True, Paul isn't quite in the league with their first two, but it's pretty damn close. Plus, it's pretty atheisty (heard a Christian shout "It's not funny!" at the screen at one point), and skeptical, as well as being fun sci fi.I'm not particularly a fan of Seth Rogen, who voiced the alien Paul, so if I were to pick on anything about the film, it would be his performance. But, quite frankly, the rest of the film is so good, his shtick works just fine, i.e., he doesn't Robin Williams it to death.

19 May 2012

Very Amusing...

I thought it was hilarious. I loved how they threw in religon. They did all the usual stuff. God created everything, blah blah blah, they even threw in some speaking in tongues. And paul responds with some of the most generic responses out there.I liked a lot of the actors and actresses, they only added to the enjoyment.I think it is important to note that all of the 1/5 star ratings all focus on how the film attacks religion/creationism.

Sandy Wilder

18 May 2012

Movie Paul. This is talent?

Bluntly, foul and filth. Hollywood catering to the the best inAmerica!? This is sarcasm in case you didn't comprehend. I lovecomedies, but this is complete lack of intelligence and talent. Iwouldn't work on a film like this for all the money in Hollywood and alove scene with the Val man! When they are reduced to using nothing butfilth and trash to fill a movie it's showing complete lack ofcreativity and intelligence. What is the thought process here? I can'tcome up with anything truly comical and entertaining so I will throw insome smut, degrade women, attack people who have different beliefs thanmyself, appeal to morally depraved in our society, and insult theintelligence of our viewers? Is this how Hollywood sees America outsideit's scope of their limited view? Is this what you think most of usare? Funny, because most Americans would see these people as the kindto avoid. Anything to make a buck? I would be ashamed to put out thiskind of junk. Just my opinion, but my children could use their 150.00camera and make a funnier movie with more creativity.Nothing against the actors, but to everyone else I would say I don'tthink you belong in Hollywood and are a disgrace to your profession.This used to be a true art form and Hollywood producing qualitymovies/programs and it was watching true artists at work. You wouldleave the theater amazed at the talent. Can we please grow a bit ofreal talent and produce works that are original and do your professionjustice? Most of America (I hope) does not wish bear witness to thisfilth. The people who do I personally steer clear of. Your stupidity isshowing, pull up your pants! Please, I don't wish to see it. If youmust put out this kind of film I would kindly ask that you attach anintelligence rating (or lack thereof) to your previews. This would savethe non drug addicted members of society a few of their hard earnedbucks.

Aeronomer

18 May 2012

Anti-religious themes disappointing

***WARNING - mild spoiler***I am a big fan of Shaun of the Dead and I really enjoyed Hot Fuzz. Somuch so that I am always interested in anything that involves SimonPegg. I checked out Run, Fat Boy, Run for just that reason and Ienjoyed it as well. When Pegg was pegged (ha) to play Scottie in thelatest incarnation of Star Trek, I was thrilled. And I thought he did agood job.When I heard about this movie and the premise I was pumped to go seeit. I loved the way it started and was having a good time at the start.It wasn't laugh-out-loud funny but I was definitely enjoying it. Then they introduce the love interest and my enthusiasm wilted. Here Ithought I paid $10 to see a spoof of alien-encounter films and comiconfanboys. Instead, I'm fidgeting uncomfortably in my seat watching alame cliché of Christians as unreasoning, uneducated morons andlistening to a typically-British, Ricky-Gervais-like diatribe againstbelief in God. Maybe I overreacted, but it was so unexpected and unwelcome in a movielike this that it caught me off guard. And the treatment was soridiculous and lame that I completely lost interest in the movie andleft. Very disappointing. Maybe I'll revisit this film on Netflix or something, but Simon Pegghas been knocked down quite a few pegs (ha) in my book. I will notautomatically pay money to see anything he does in the future.

Jona1988

17 May 2012

Good fun but not on level with Shaun and Fuzz

I loved Shaun of the dead and also I liked Hot Fuzz. Still when I foundout about Paul while it still was in development I could not quite getthat excited. Paul is not directed by Edgar Wright who made Shaun andFuzz so in that way one should not see it as a successor to them butstill it stars and is also written by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg so onecan't help but draw a little comparison.So did I like this movie or not? The answer is I did, when it ended Ifelt liked I've had a great time. It is also a great film to watch witha bunch of pals which is the kind of company I was in when I saw it.However the film didn't start out that well. At first it felt like itwas going at like way to fast. So some films are fast paced and usuallycomedies like this kind but it is not that way, this felt rather rushedand forced. Same goes for the humour for like the first twenty minutesor so. The supposed to be funny scenes are forced upon you and over thetop even for this kind of movie. But thankfully after a while stuffstarts to happen in the plot more than just Pegg and Frost's charactersrunning around being silly. The story might not be great stuff butrather basic having been done before stuff but that's exactly what thisfilm is a hail to the science-fiction genre. A lot of the jokes areparodies on classic movie moments in the genre and for me it workedgreat. Of course one needs to have a bit of knowledge about the kind ofmovies but come on this is made for the sci-fi fans. There is alsoother kinds of jokes in this and once I get into the style of the filmit is good fun even if it doesn't quite hit the perfect spot as theirprevious films and some stuff fall flat. The parody stuff is the maintheme of the movie. Like I said the plot is not more than very well. Itdoes what is needed but not more and the stories in Shaun and Fuzz weremore than the average comedy stuff and actually brought something newand also managed to both surprise and entertain. Paul doesn't do thatyou know pretty soon what will happen because it is just forwardfamiliar stuff. Never surprises' but always entertains, well most ofthe time at least. And so what about the effects one must ask whenthere is sci-fi in the title. There is a alien in the movie. Come onthat's no spoiler as you can see it on like every poster. It looks goodenough but of course it's not Gollum quality even if I've read that iswas filmed in that kind of way. More than sometimes I get the feelingthat he is not really there and it can look kind of 2D. Still this is acomedy and so should be judged by the fun and not the effects. Thetitle character is voiced by Seth Rogen. That works good, sure youright away know it is him and even if you don't know his name you canpicture him from just seeing a couple of movies with him. I think hefits the role fine with the perfect voice to get the right feel for thecharacter and fitting to the tone of the film. Just his voice feelsfunny here and he hits the lines perfectly. There are some jokes makingfun with religion which I have seen several point out. But I don'tthink one should be offended by it; I mean we can joke about all otherthings so why should religion be different. But that's just my opinion.To sum up: I liked Paul. It is clearly weaker than Pegg and Frost'sShaun of the dead and Hot Fuzz but that doesn't mean it's weak on itsown. Neither was I disappointed when the movie ended but had had a funtime. So bring some friends over and see it cause it's that kind ofmovie.

Mick LaSalle

17 May 2012

This is a well-made, well-plotted and sensitive movie.

ToddWebb

17 May 2012

Too simplistic, too silly, too predictable

It's rare that I am surprised (or suckered) by a movie, by hype, or bya misleading trailer. But this one just didn't do it for me. Now, I seethe high IMDb rating, and I trust that, more or less. So I do believemost people really like this movie.But not me. I just didn't laugh. I could see most jokes coming beforethey got there. Same for the punch lines. It was like watching comedywriting in very slow motion. I realize Seth is a comedic icon of ourtime, but his voice just did not fit that alien. I couldn't get pastit. It was weird.Throughout the movie, I could *see* what they were trying to do. It wasforced, fake and usually awkward. The timing wasn't there. Thecharacters were cartoon-y. I just didn't buy it.I did have a couple laughs during this movie. But mostly, I leftdisappointed.

Greg Maki

16 May 2012

... A very funny movie with its heart in the right place.

Rob Vaux

16 May 2012

A Valentine to all things sci-fi that insiders will adore and outsiders will enjoy without feeling lost.

reverencek6

16 May 2012

pegg and frost go Hollywood...and it fails massively!!

well where to begin with this one!....lets start with the fact thatthis has not been made for their already established audience i.e fansof shaun of the dead and hot fuzz, this was an attempt to break theAmerican market with their very British style of humour and it justdidn't work! whereas with shaun of the dead and hot fuzz they were setin Britain with home grown British actors most up and coming,this filmthey seemed to have sold out and thought we can make an easy buck hereand cast so called Hollywood a-listers! lets start with seth rogen (whoi feel is massively over-rated,different story for another day though!)even though he only had to do a voice over there was no conviction whenhe had to cough up a quick one liner! sigourney weaver again there toget the American audiences in the theatre seats! the one saving graceof this film is kristen wiig as always with her roles was on the buttonwith every line she delivered! now I'm not saying that i don't admirepegg and frost for having ago at this, I'm just saying in my opinion itdidn't work! get back to the brilliance of hot fuzz lads and leaveHollywood to Hollywood!

Andrew L. Urban

14 May 2012

If it's escapist fun you want, just go with Paul

14 May 2012

Buyers Remorse

This review is from: Paul (Amazon Instant Video) Not a good movie. Liberal slant and anti-creationism. Sorry to have wasted my time and money to watch this. This is not a movie for young kids.

ness978

14 May 2012

Alien Dude

I loved this movie it was the most totally hilarious Sci Fic movie Ihave ever seen, the movie wasn't given enough much of a rating thoughwhich sucks. If you love the little bug eyed creatures then this movies for you, from making a man pee himself to being grouped by and agentin a costume shop this little guy was the coolest alien I have seen ina movie ever. There is a lot of alien swearing in the movie so maybenot for little kids but definitely a movie I could watch more then oncejust for the laughs I got from the funny alien parts, its nothing likeany other alien movie you have seen before. So if your religious anddon't like swearing then I suggest you don't watch it, but if you lovealiens and don't mind the language then it is definitely worth renting.

Roz Laws

14 May 2012

There is quite a bit to chuckle at if you have a more sophisticated sense of humour, but this film really is E.T. remade for not-quite-grown-ups.

peteranderson975

13 May 2012

Amusing but not hilarious

Two sci-fi nerds from England, Clive Gollings (NickFrost) and GraemeWilly (Simon Pegg) are geeking out at their holiday of lifetimestarting with visit to San Diego Comicon. Next they rent an RV head offon trip round various well-known alien encounter sites. On their firstnight out a car speeds down the road out nowhere, overtakes them andcrashes right in front of them. They get out to see if the driver needshelp and discover the driver is Paul (Seth Rogen), a short green wisecracking ET. Paul begs them to help him escape from a mysteriousgovernment agency led by The Big Man (Sigourney Weaver). He has beenheld for 60 years while he was interrogated for all his knowledge andnow they have finished doing that they want to cut him up to learnabout his special alien abilities. He has escaped and now needs to gomeet a rescue ship. Graeme agrees to help eagerly but Clive is lesscertain but finally goes along with it.They stop for the night at a trailer park run by Creationist ChristianMoses Buggs (John Carroll Lynch) and his daughter Ruth (Kristen Wiig).When Ruth comes round to collect their money for berthing up for nightshe meets Paul and she collapses in dead faint from the shock. Theyflee from the park in a panic with the still unconscious Ruth. Mosesalerts the police and soon government agents turn up, led by Agent Zoiland rookie agents Haggard (Bill Hader) and O'Reilly (Joe Lo Truglio).The agents and Moses Bugg chase after the RV as it head towards Paul'srendezvous with his rescue shipThis film is a lot of fun. It's not a hilariously funny film and Ifound I was sniggering a lot but there were few big laughs. Clive andGraeme are Frost and Pegg and they are charming naturally funny guysand are also as nerdy in real life as their characters.In this filmthey got to play characters that allowed them to indulge theirinterests. the script is full of lines taken from classic sci-fi filmsand I enjoyed playing spot the references. A lot the humour is prettycrude and there is a running gag that Paul has inspired many of theideas of modern popular culture. Paul is amusing but I wondered ifthere was a problem dubbing on Seth Rogen's voice because it didn'tquite blend in with sound of the film and there were times I could tellit was recorded in a studio far far awayThe rest of the cast are pretty good though I did think Ruth andespecially Moses were bit of a caricature. I know it was done forlaughs but it was a bit of an easy target to poke fun at the crazyChristians. In a lot films about friendly aliens on Earth we get theinnocent alien learning about human culture but Paul is already anexpert and it is Ruth who learns about this strange new world ofswearing and penises and kissing boys. The agents especially were a lotof fun. Sigourney Weaver was great playing The Big Man as an over thetop mega bitch and I am sure Simon Pegg will treasure his scene withher near the end for a long time.Rating 7/10

baj001

13 May 2012

A lot better than what most people are saying this is.

I honestly don't see how people can hate this movie! I thank theuploaders from the UK allowing us across the pond to have a free lookat this movie before it's released out here. I absolutely loved thismovie from start to finish. It starts out with just 2 nerds, beingnerds through and through, wondering if there is alien life out there,never really expecting to see an alien, then bam, alien right in theirmidst. The story is witty, comical, and does surprise you a lot. I seepeople complaining about Paul knowing English, how all these alienmovies have the aliens knowing English right off the bat, but what theyfailed to recognize was that Paul had been in custody for like 50 yearsand has a supreme intellect compared to humans, if he couldn't learnEnglish in that span, then I don't know what to tell you, but his alienfriends at the end did speak a language that wasn't English, so thatpretty much clears up why he would know English. But I loved all thetributes to other sci-fi movies, and how they attributed Pauls look towhat we've come to know aliens as looking like, and how they explainedthat thats why we see that image today so we wouldn't be freaked out ifPaul ever did get out in the public. Overall, the story was great,there's some good twists and turns, and I think it ends on a good note,and just an overly enjoyable movie whether you're into scifi or not!